and abc's meteorologist ginger zee is tracking it all from the snows of des moines, iowa. ginger? >> reporter: diane, it has been a punishing day for millions of americans. the snow drifts growing so tall here in iowa, and the blizzard, only part of the problem. tonight, an aggressive winter storm, carrying thrashing winds and blowing snow, has shut down major highways across the midwest and killed at least five people. there have been more than 1,000 spinouts and crashes from nebraska to wisconsin. in iowa, it was a 25-car pileup on i-35. so many people stranded on the roads across that state, the iowa national guard has mobilized 80 troops in humvees to come in and help. >> they can get into places where the traction isn't really good. >> reporter: the blowing snow is really the problem here. it has stopped falling but you can hardly tell. the cars still litter the side of the highway. there are incredible whiteouts up and down i-80. the blizzard is just part of this mammoth storm that came in with a bang. that's thunder snow from madison, wisconsin. the first major winter storm

at this shop in des moines, iowa, callers have emptied the stores. state legislators are looking to their 2013 sessions to maybe change gun laws. in south carolina, a bill has been proposed to exempt the state from federal regulations of guns and ammunition made there. eight other states have similar laws and 40 other states have filed similar legislation. >>> all right, time now for a much needed break this morning. as always, let us know why you're awake. e-mail us at waytoo early at msnbc.com. >>> still ahead -- the jets find greg mcelroy, the backup to the backup is going to be the backup once again. think it's tebow time on the jets? right. >> you're not going to believe this one, i'm going to start mark sanchez. >> no love for tebow. we're going to show you what tebow had to say about it and get a check of your friday weather when "way too early" comes right back. >>> in buffalo, new york, a white christmas for the record books has now become a state of emergency. dig out from 17 feet of snow in just 5 days. >>> last couple of days were pretty

stretching down into des moines, iowa, as well. this whole system is finally pulling away. snow showers across maine. the wind is easing and precipitation is winding down as well. this storm system is a saturday event. mostly rain from southern new jersey down through delaware and mostly rain across the eastern tip of long island and into cape cod. you go inland just a little bit where it goes from rain over to snow and that scenario where we can see about 3 to 5 inches. again, if this storm backs a little closer to land, we would see those higher amounts push back into central massachusetts and connecticut. for the most part, new york city, about an inch or so. new york, connecticut, western massachusetts, we should pick up about 3 inches out of this storm. >> all right, dylan, thanks so much. >>> coming up -- a million-dollar t-rex smuggling ring. >>> adam lanza's dna will be studied. >>> plus, who are hollywood's most bankable stars. you'll find out. you're watching first look on msnbc. [ male announcer ] in blind taste tests, even ragu users chose prego. prego?! but i'v

see the ram on th >> police in des moines, iowa, had a heck of a time tracking down a suspect on footause the suspect was a ram onhe loose. this video is from kcci. it turned into which way did he go? there are a number of different cars trying to track this thing down. it wasn't so easy. >> you know what's funny about these situations, they get police cars and emergency vehicles, call a cowboy. call a farmer. >> they don#r know how to handle a ram. >> it's afá big animal between 0 and 160 pounds. you can't say come on, you'refá coming with us. it actually rammed into the police vehicles at some point during this as they tried to coral this guy. >> where did it come from? >> thefá homeowner was keeping e ram for a friend. that person was cited for having an animal at large and the owner agreed to move the ram out of town. but they caught him. they caught up to him near the judicial building where a bunch of guysxd wrestled him down by e horns and got him under custody. >> he was going to file a report. he was upset the friend left him with his friend. >> i heard he was sheepish about

only in the 20s in des moines, iowa. chicagoland barely above freezing.t's sparking that rain and then through the day tomorrow temperatures struggling to get out of the mid-40s. dress warmer tomorrow except for a cool change. the same deal on wednesday a day where it will be tough to get very far out of the 40s. take a look at the overall setup. it is a large frontal boundary but not a particularly powerful one. this time of the year we can get cold fronts pushing in that will drop it 20, 30 degrees or more. still a cooldown, but not a real powerful arctic front. we haven't seen any true arguments air but we will see more of this, cloudy gloomy conditions until the front rolls through. tonight 43. scattered showers. we will get breezy overnight. how about your two degree guarantee. 50 degrees. cooler and breezy with some sun finally, some sun. then partly cloudy as we trend colder. next few days temperatures struggling to get to 50 degrees. we may touch 50. i think most of your tuesday will be in the 40s. colder air settles in on your wednesday. then we'

the imarges from a 25-vehicle pile-up in des moines, iowa. the storm is dumping as much as a foot of snow in its path and driving rain and wind gusts in the 50-mile-per-hour range in others. air travelers across the country are facing major cancellations from san diego to new york with the worst cancellations coming out of chicago. our nbc meteorologist bill karins is tracking the storm for us. what's the latest? >> today was a good day to take off from work if you possibly could. in a lot of areas from the great lakes to the west coast, the wind is howling. the wind is the biggest threat out there. it's going to be this morning in mostly the big cities along i-95. right now winds 39 in philadelphia. 36 in scranton. you have to get in the 50-mile-per-hour range to get damaging winds. that will occur as the sun is coming up this morning around new york city, philadelphia, all of new jersey and then southern new england this afternoon. it's not pretty around chicago with winds at 40 and indianapolis at 40 and areas of snow out here. so it's a v

problems across the midwest, powerful storm dumping blizzard conditions in some areas this is des moines, iowaand will continue until noon today in colorado, drivers are maneuvering through dicey conditions, if you are traveling to or from o'hare, one of the busiest in the world, expect delays, snow and strong winds may affect visibility. in conditions like that they have to deice wings because ice builds up. >> we could expect delays not just at o'hare but nationwide, right? >> yeah, definitely a dom -- definitely a domino effect. use our flight tracker at abc7news.com. 5:47. you can see from sutro tower san francisco looks clear even oakland, al dark san leandro looks nice now. clouds and radar returns up north there's noise in those clouds not making it to the ground undercut by dry air, clouds will stabilize temperatures this morning. i think -- napa 32, frost there, around redwood city 33, 29 live more and concord, 27 fairfield, 39 san jose, 43 oakland, 44 san francisco mid 30s monterey bay 28 in gilroy. today we'll see increase in clouds, breezes, in temperatures also rain coming in toni

. >> she was in des moines iowa on friday. performed for 90 minutes having to end a concert early.gized for cutting the show short and as a result would donate her earnings from the concert back to the community. going the extra step. often it's like sorry. good for you. she seems like a good person. >> it's not too late to lend a hand. holly is taking us to dc central kitchen where they are making thousands of meals each day. >>> and are you tired of the same holiday decorations? we'll have tips from an expert crafter to transform your decor decore. this holiday, share everything. share "not even close." share "you owe me..." share "just right." the share everything plan. shareable data across 10 devices with unlimited talk and text. hurry in for a droid razr m by motorola for $49.99. >>> welcome back. 9:44. one local organization has used job training, healthy food distribution and small business partnerships to change lives. and as their work continues through the holidays, more about what we can do to help. holly morris has more from the dc central kitchen in northwest. >> repo

. >> an unusual type of chase this morning, on the streets of des moines, iowa...round up a ram on the run. officers tried corralling the animal with their cars... but, as you can see, it just kept running! the animal's joy run ended at the iowa state capitol, where it was finally cornered. officers say, the ram belongs to a local homeowner, who was keeping it for a friend. police say, they having an animal at large. >> coming up sports director, gary radnich is joined with his lovely wife alicia and stanford and cal...the details... coming up. look at you guys with your fancy-schmancy u-verse high speed internet. you know, in my day you couldn't just start streaming six ways to sunday. you'd get knocked off. and sometimes, it took a minute to download a song. that's sixty seconds, for crying out loud. we know how long a minute is! sitting, waiting for an album to download. i still have back problems. you're only 14 and a half. he doesn't have back problems. you kids have got it too good if you ask me. [ male announcer ] now u-verse high speed internet has more spe

this was downtown des moines, iowa as the snow was just starting.could get dumped on with a foot of snow and wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour in some parts. wisconsin's governor already declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm. >> we did this well in february 2011, learning from mistakes made in the past, where they didn't have enough people positioned so from storm crews out there, county truck roads, d.o.t. staff out, wards around snowmobiles and others we'll be fully prepared. >> a lot of us will share in the misery. the storm reaching into the southern united states, we're getting a first look at damage, trees mangled, trucks overturned, a number of buildings damaged in mobile, alabama. tornado warnings still in place in southwest alabama and the severe threat stretches into georgia. meteorologist alexandra steele is here. i wish you weren't because that would mean there's better weather. >> happy holidays. >> exactly. >> tens of millions of people being impacted by this variety of weather. blizzard warnings, carol talked about des

president of the magazine group of the meredith corporation, the fortune 500 media giant based in des moines, iowathat's where he met and married sally pederson and where they raised a son, ronald. because of him, both jim and sally became advocates for children and adults struggling with autism. in time, sally would be twice elected iowa's lieutenant governor. and jim, after retiring from the publishing trade, became a sought-after adviser to business organizations. he keeps writing books of poems, practical philosophy, and remembrance, including "love and profit: the art of caring leadership," "the servant leader" and looking around for god." this is his latest, "choosing gratitude: learning to love the life you have." jim, welcome to the show. >> good to be here, bill. >> when you were at meredith corporation, fortune 500 company you were widely admired as a caring executive. we don't read much about that kind of ceo anymore. and i'm wondering if you have stayed enough in touch with the world of business to offer an opinion on what's gone wrong. >> you know, there are a lot of sort of cliches a

deal for them, a major winter storm closing n.in fact, they just diverted 20 plains going to des moines, iowa, here to louisville, the company headquarters, trying to work around some of the weather issues. now the packages you see rolling off behind me are going on to conveyers. they will spend 15 minutes in this facility. pretty much directed by barcode. just come off planes sitting 100 yards from where i'm standing out on the ramp, and they will go back out on the planes within a very short time period. and that's the way they roll here. it's a 24/7 operation. today is the busiest day they have had all year, and today is the highest volume as well because the explosion of online shopping has made it so that you can order up until the last minute and get there in time, so the weather is a slight hiccup. they say they have plenty of time to get it there, and they are just going here like they have never done before. scott, back to you. >> all right, janet, thanks so much. >> scotty, 300 packages a second is what janet just told you. >> a big day at work. >> really is. ahead of that christmas

moines. and in iowa, the storm blinded drivers. 25 cars piled up, a crash blamed on whiteout conditions.way was shut down. the national guard was sent to rescue trapped drivers. >> and that storm brought air travel to a stand still. 500 flights were canceled in chicago with a ripple effect across the country. up to six inches is expected in chicago where holiday travelers are simply stuck. abc's alex perez is there. >> reporter: more than 1,000 flights across the country already canceled, from texas -- >> i can't get out until the morning. >> reporter: to des moines, iowa, where they got a foot of snow. >> we found a rental car and are going to try to drive through. >> reporter: in denver, those stranded just trying to get out. >> no delays, no delays. and now i've been in here for an hour. >> reporter: and at chicago's o'hare airport, hundreds of flights delayed. >> very frustrating. anxious to get home. i hate being at the airport. >> reporter: as the wind, rain and snow sweeps east from chicago, new york, boston, washington, d.c. and philadelphia airports all expecting delays. and uni

and in iowa, lots of i-reports coming out of iowa area. des moines, ames, iowa.y had a 30-car pileup there and reports out of chicago, o'hare and midway saying hundreds of flights canceled already because the conditions there are just deteriorated so fiercely. and not just there. across the southeast we saw damaging winds and a possible tornado in mobile, alabama. >> karen, thank you very much. >> karen, thank you very much. obviously, very bad timing for that for so many. still "outfront," breaking news. we'll take to you capitol hill. some late developments as republican at this inassistants are scrambling to get enough [ male announcer ] if someone asks what it feels like to drive a jeep grand cherokee, tell them it's like being nestled in an eight-way, adjustable, heated and ventilated seat surrounded by a 500-watt sound system while floating on a suspension made of billowy clouds. or you could just hand them your keys. ♪ ♪ ♪ hark how the bells, sweet silver bells ♪ ♪ all seem to say throw care away ♪ ♪ from everywhere, filling the air ♪ [ female announcer ]

. >>> vamos a empezar con una noticia muy triste, tras el hallazgo de dos cuerpos en des moines iowa, fiscal no hay un acuerdo aún entre demócratas y republicanos para evitar la combinación de aumento de impuestos y reducción de gastos públicos que podría causar otra recesión. >>> la mayoría apoya la medida del presidente barack obama que aumenta los impuestos a los más ricos, una encuesta revela que debería aumentarse los impuestos para quienes más ganan, el sondeo también encontró que el 46% prefiere recortar los programas del gobierno >>> y arizona ha sido el epicentro de las leyes contra los indocumentados, sin embargo ahora puede ser un papel importante para una reforma migratoria, porque un senador se unió a real arizona coalition que presnetó una propuesta para la guia de una creación de una reforma migratoria. >>> arizona impulsa una reforma migratoria. >>> debemos ser el epicentro de la solución. >>> los que presentaronla propuesta, dicen que tienen en cuenta la situación del país, también dicned que la reforma migratoria integral tiene que incluir un programa de trabajadores

and in iowa, lots of i-reports coming out of iowa area. des moines, ames, iowa.y had a 30-car pileup there and reports out of chicago, o'hare and midway saying hundreds of flights canceled already because the conditions there are just deteriorated so fiercely. and not just there. across the southeast we saw damaging winds and a possible tornado in mobile, alabama. >> karen, thank you very much. obviously, very bad timing for that for so many. still "outfront," breaking news. we'll take to you capitol hill. some late developments as house speaker john boehner has pulled his plan for the fiscal cliff because he got revolted on by his own party. and we'll take you inside the mind of a killer, and show you the pattern that one doctor has found. [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus presents the cold truth. i have a cold, and i took nyquil, but i'm still "stubbed" up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] it doesn't have a decongestant. no way. [ male announcer ] sorry. alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms

and in iowa, lots of i-reports coming out of iowa area. des moines, ames, iowa.d a 30-car pileup there and reports out of chicago, o'hare and midway saying hundreds of flights canceled already because the conditions there are just deteriorated so fiercely. and not just there. across the southeast we saw damaging winds and a possible tornado in mobile, alabama. >> karen, thank you very much. obviously, very bad timing for that for so many. still "outfront," breaking news. we'll take to you capitol hill. some late developments as republican at this inassistants are scrambling to get enough votes. let's say you want to get ahead in your career. how do you get from here... to here? at university of phoenix we're moving career planning forward so you can start figuring that out sooner. ln fact, by thinking about where want your education to lead, while you're still in school, you might find the best route... leads somewhere you weren't even looking. let's get to work. advil pm® or tylenol pm. the advil pm® guy is spending less time lying awake with annoying aches and

host: roger in des moines, iowa, independent line. caller: good morning. i've got a question. i am just questioning the arithmetic's. i am a conservative, but i am independent. would somebody take a pencil? the bush tax cuts is about $500 billion a year, i am hearing. the tax breaks that the rich get, it's $85 billion. the bush tax cuts that the president has been bragging about that only for the rich, $450 billion a year is to the middle class and lower middle class people. so, if everybody says let's go back to the clinton tax rates, that is the clinton tax rates. also, on more spending, the iraq war, we pulled the people out. on c-span about two months ago i turned it on a senate armed services committee. i've not seen any by a report on this. the. -- the state department said in private contractors at a cost it at or > if we would've sent our troops in there. it is a fact right now, the figures don't lie, but liars figure. host: thanks for the call. guest: the president's proposal to roll back the bush tax rates for upper-income americans would raise probably about $100 bi

one of the places that already has nine inches of snow on the ground, des moines, iowa. and ginger zee is right under all that snow. good morning, ginger. >> sam, the winds here have been absolutely brutal. you can see the blowing snow behind me. we have another a foot that will now blow into snow drifts on the road. three-foot to five-foot drifts. troubling for holiday travelers. overnight, eight inches of snow dumped in parts of nebraska, with 50-mile-per-hour wind gusts that sent cars like this sliding straight through intersections. and in iowa, in the midst of a blizzard, a flash. >> was that you? >> and then -- >> yeah. >> reporter: yep. that's thundersnow. it's just one of the many weather phenomena from this winter storm. it's affecting everything from colorado to wisconsin. and on the backside, in texas, downtown lubbock was hardly visible wednesday. dust storms caused by whipping winds up to 60 miles per hour, sent 23 cars colliding on this texas highway, killing 1 man and injuring 17 others. and this storm would shut down parts of an interstate in colorado, wa

this is video out of des moines, iowa.f several states in the midwest are getting blanketed by snow in fact, parts of northern michigan could see as much as 46 in. of snow by tomorrow morning. driving is really tough because of icy conditions and wins. may well, two people in wisconsin were killed when their car slid into the path of a truck. >> still at a city and beyond! nasa has tested a new prototype space suit that looks a lot like a character out of a disney movie. take a look. it is called the z-one spacesuit. and up resemblance to a toy stories buzz a light year is undeniable. the space suit has a big round dome on the top and the signature bright green stripes. it features a giant metal overall on the back that allows of astronauts to dock themselves to a space craft eliminating the need for air locks. the suit also has improved radiation protection letting them stay in space or on the surface of alien worlds for a longer period of time. we will be bright back. >> the top stories that we are working on this thursd

highest i could find was the town just north of des moines iowa, almost 14 inches of snow. rochester, minnesota, six inches and here in the twin cities just 0.6 of an inch of snow. now the storm is a problem for the great lakes and for the northeast, with that snow and wind battling areas that are from say around toronto to detroit, down to cincinnati it's heavy rain this morning in the northeast, and then that will change over to some snow showers with more wind coming up this afternoon. speaking of snowfall totals it doesn't look like we'll have blockbuster amounts in most areas, an inch to three inches in the white shaded areas but some of the higher terrain areas in parts of with of wf 8 to 14 inches of snow and near blizzard conditions with snows downwind of the great lakes as well. major travel disruptions in philly, in new york city back to chicago, both o'hare and midway and a lot of flight delays likely from detroit to cleveland to cincinnati down to charlotte. this storm is going to be with us for the next couple of days. charlie, back to you. >> thanks. >>> last

ginger zee, abc news, des moines, iowa. >> and here's the rest of your thursday forecast, everybody.hanging to the white stuff. thunderstorms from the ohio valley down to knoxville. severe storms from new orleans to the carolinas. heavy rain and mountain snow in the northwest. >> 40s from seattle to billings. 12 degrees in fargo. 20s from minneapolis to kansas city. 40s for the rest of the midwest and northeast. >>> and some glamour and history this morning. the long wait for an american miss universe is over. >> that's because 20-year-old olivia culpa of rhode island won the title just last night. she's 20 years old, uh-huh, a sophomore at boston university, and she calls herself a cellist nerd. >> oh, my. culpo is the first miss universe winner from the usa since 1997. she won the title despite a slight slip in the evening gown competition. her poised recovery must have helped. because she was almost fashion road kill there. >> well done to the panel. well done. >> do you like her? >> a fine, fine choice. >> fine choice. >> and she has nice teeth, too. >> no gap. >> who knew? >> th

but if you live in des moines, iowa, if you live elsewhere in the heartland, you may not think that the north had any part in this post-emancipation story. this is a slide from the chicago race riots of 1919 and here you see the police arriving on the scene of a young black man who was literally stoned to death after a 13-year-old boy had been murdered at a beach because he swam across an obvious color line. many people lost their lives. many african-americans ended up homeless. but this is a culminating moment. you described in the idyllic racially integrated hyde park that is now the home of the first family, the bombs are going off two years before this happened. what is going on in chicago? >> you know was fascinating when i read this because cb moten johnson, michelle obama's great-grandmother lived in height harkin that was the big deal because she lived not far from where the obama's live today. someone had recommended to me the chicago commission study of the race riots. when i was going through their and i discovered these bombings african-americans were moving into hyde park a

iowa. >> des moines police, yes, they had a very busy morning chasing down a ram that escaped from a trailerdom, though, only lasted oh, about an hour. >> poor ram. tried to get away. >>> a couple more animals that made an escape in new york. >> a zebra and a pony escaped from a staten island petting zoo and they made it, well, they made it out there in freedom than the ram trotting around for several hours before they were finally tracked down. look at those guys go. >> they have been plotting this for some time. wednesday, you and me, we're out of here. >>> hey, you know, the old folk say bo knows christmas. >> yeah. >> i know they actually don't say it, but i'm going to make this stick. >> that's the new saying now. >> bo makes christmas. >> i'll try to make you help it stick. watch the obama pet inspect the famous white house christmas decorations. lack at this. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> that is my favorite piece of video that i've seen in several weeks now. >> i love it. >> he's so. cocks his little head and ends up with a santa hat. is it me. >> just strolls through, blue room, we're good. red room, al

iowa. in des moines, i spoke with a guy at the national weather service there.as saying visibility, couldn't see anything. it's hard to see. it's awful. imagine being out on the roadways. on parts of i-80, it's startling. could see up to 12 inches or more near green bay. southward of chicago, chicago has gone 290 days without any measurable snowfall. that could change today. later this afternoon, we expect the temperatures to drop 2 to 4 inches in chicago. neighborhood north might get more. it's rain for millions of americans, but that snow in the upper midwest is quiet. as we make our way towards the west, you'll notice dryer air moving into the central plains and out west we have another storm system affecting the pacific northwest. it could be up to a foot of snow in portions of the cascades. back to you guys. >> all right. reynolds, it's actually draco. i did look it up. i can't keep the two straight, but draco, traco. >> you guys make the rules and i'll just follow you. >> not relate t to the lawmaker at all. >>> let's check on the markets and the economy.

to des moines iowa we go to our independent line. caller: i do have a quick question, my wife and i have been a small business owner for the last two and a half years which we did close our coffee shop in des moines back in january. i've ran for the iowa house twice. i have a quick question, how can i as an individual and the rest of america, with the help of c-span, find out how each representative or senator feels and votes for this, this plan that the speaker put forth or the plan a as we call it? i think they will come together. but if they don't, how do we know -- how do we, the american people, know who is against this and who is for it? because there are a lot of people in america that really want to know this. >> i give you one resource and the link may be there i see it under web resources, this is our home page but on cspan.org/fiscal cliff. i'm not sure how tchaurnt is. sometimes it takes a day or two to happen but i bet if you search through there it will be there. on our republican line. caller: i think that the fact tha

an hour as he weaved through traffic. >> that says ankanie, which is a little outside des moines. >> she knows iowawith another vehicle. thankfully, no one was injured. >> people in des moines would never do that. >>> a chicago couple parents for the second time. daughter macy carolyn martinez didn't come into the world in a hospital. she was born on the side of a highway before mom could make it to the maternity ward. >> i used to make fun of people that had babies on the side of the road because i couldn't understand how you didn't make it to the hospital in time, but after yesterday, now i understand how that truly does happen. >> that actually happened to my wife. she was born in a car. >> she was? >> she was. >> really? >> she was. this story has a second part as well, by the way. the baby was born with her umbilical cord actually wrapped around her neck, and she wasn't breathing. fortunately, dad is an illinois state trooper trained to deal with such an emergency. he was the mvp after the vip. >> and sanjay passed out when his daughter was born in the car. no. >> that's a good story. just ahe

host: roger in des moines, iowa, independent line. caller: good morning. i've got a question. arithmetic's. independent. would somebody take a pencil? the bush tax cuts are about $500 billion a year, i am hearing. the tax breaks that the rich get, it's $85 billion. the bush tax cuts that the president has been bragging about that only for the rich, $450 billion a year is to the middle class and lower middle class people. so, if everybody says let's go back to the clinton tax rates, that is the clinton tax rates. also, on more spending, the iraq war, we pulled the people out. on c-span about two months ago i turned it on a senate armed services committee. one not seen anybody report this. the state department sent in private contractors at a cost greater than if we would've had our troops in there. it is a fact right now, the figures don't lie, but liars figure. host: thanks for the call. guest: the president's proposal to roll back the bush tax rates for upper-income americans would raise probably about $100 billion a year. that includes higher tax rates on income earned over

moines and green bay. >> whiteout conditions have caused numerous car crashes across several states, including nebraska, kansas and iowa. a state of emergency has been declared in wisconsin where many schools are close ed today. abc's ginger zee braved the storm in des moines. >> here to madison, wisconsin, in the next 24 hours, it will be a foot or more. the wind gusts will make drifts three to five feet, just as all of these holiday travelers hit the roads. >> planes, too. air travelers hoping to beat the christmas travel crush were stranded in denver as their flights were canceled. crews tried to deice planes and clear the runways. but they couldn't keep up with all of the falling snow. winter getting an early start. officially tomorrow, right? >>> and more on where that storm is headed and who will get the worst of it. >> meteorologist jim dickey is tracking it all from accuweather. good morning, jim. >> good morning, rob and sunny. a powerful area of low pressure will batter the upper midwest and great lakes, with wind-driven snow through the day. often with the threat of strong to severe thunderstorms. as far as

june 30, 2009 is just winding down for an iowa bridge construction crew along the des moines river when crane operator joe low notices something terribly wrong. >> i seen the boat drift down and he started it up and he was trying to wrap with an anchor or rope or something. then i heard him holler at his wife, put her life jacket on and he didn't have one on. >> there's nothing anyone nearby can do to keep them plummeting over the dam. the man is carried downstream but the woman is caught in the turbulence or boil of the falls rushing over the dam. a swift water rescue team is called in and captured by local nbc cameras. they know time is not on their side. the short falls create a powerful under toe too strong for the woman to swim out of. pushing against the current they get as close as they can and throw her a line. but the celebration is premature. >> evidently the person didn't have enough strength to hold on so they could be pulled to safety. >> the powerful falling water keeps sucking her under. further downstream, her husband does not make it out alive and his body is recovered

one iowa reporter went inside a des moines gun shop. >> the most popular is the a.r.-15, one of the weapons used in the sandy hook shooting. >> two days before christmas i maybe have 30 of these. and i had ten in my safes. and now i have zero. >> i'm joined by los angeles mayor antonio villaraigosa. welcome to the show, mr. mayor. >> michael, thank you for having me on. happy holidays to you. >> the same to you, my friend. does the uptick in gun sales surprise you in any way? >> no. i think we've seen this happen before. you've heard one of the people interviewed saying that it happened in the 1990s, when bill clinton was talking about and trying to do something about gun violence and responsible gun laws. you see it happening again after sandy hook. after the two firefighters who were assassinated just the other day and two police officers who were killed on christmas eve. the fact of the matter is these people buy these guns because they can, because it's so easy to buy assault weapons in the united states of america. and we've got to do something about that. yes, we've got to get people

iowa through central wisconsin. snow and winds impacting cities like des moines, southern parts of minneapolis and eventually chicago. and it doesn't stop there. in the south, damaging winds, hail and isolated tornadoes are possible tonight into tomorrow. the snow is just starting to come down here in des moines, and from here, to madison, wisconsin, it's incredible to think that in the next 24 hours, it will be a foot or more. the wind gusts of 50 miles an hour will make drifts three to five feet, just as all these holiday travelers hit the road. diane? >> all right, ginger zee reporting in from the snow. >>> and now tonight, we have some answers to the question asked so often. could anything have prevented the deaths of those americans in benghazi, libya? a stinging report has been released, and members of secretary of state hillary clinton's team have begun to resign. abc's senior foreign affairs correspondent martha raddatz has the truth behind the attack. >> reporter: we know how horrible the attack was, how heroic the fight to save lives, how heavy the loss. but today, with this searing report, we now know wha

iowa, you can see right i-80 through des moines, biggest cities impacted today, des moines, madison,n chicago late tonight. the swath where the heaviest snow will be, you can see it delineated in the purple between about 10 and 12 inches of snow. so this is really phase two of this storm. we saw the snow. today we'll see more snow. we saw the winds yesterday and last night. we'll see stronger winds today. so it's kind of even energizing further still. here's the radar picture, the northern tier, but of course where the snow is and the blizzard conditions. this is the swath of that. we do have blizzard warnings in six states meaning the snow is coming down but it's the invisibility and incredibly strong winds that make this a poirlous sca o perilous scenario today. there's that severe side from chicago all the way down to st. louis. again, green bay to des moines, that's where we'll see a foot of snow today coupled with incredible winds that we'll see throughout the day pick up in earnest through tonight in chicago. >> all that snow coming down is taking down power lines as well. ther

moines and dubuque. at least six people were killed, including 2 in a 25-car pileup in iowa. >> whiteouts were so treacherous, along stretch of interstate 35 was shut down. and the national guard was called in to help all those stranded drivers. the conditions dangerous for reporters, as well. >> the wind on interstate 80 is absolutely incredible. and it's just whipping from the north to the south. there's about a sheet of ice -- that was the one. >> blowing snow is really the problem here. it has stopped falling. but you can hardly tell. the cars still litter the side of the highway. there's incredible whiteout up and down i-80. >> i'm impressed that guy didn't fall. the storm is putting a damper on the holiday spirit, as air travelers struggle to make it home for christmas. more than 1,000 flights have been canceled, mostly at chicago's o'hare and midway airports. >>> more, now, on where the blizzard is going next and how much life it has left. >> accuweather meteorologist jim dickey is tracking it for us. >> good morning. feeling the effects of our major winter storm here. you see the swath of snow windin

moines. oten more is forecast in parts of wisconsin and michigan. whiteouts led to a pileup of 25 vehicles near iowa falls, iowa. two lives were lost. weo others died in traffic on wednesday in nebraska. thousands were without power across the region as the thermometer headed into the 20s and lower. the blizzard's timing could not have been worse for the vanguard of holiday travelers. chicago's airports were filled with the delayed or the stranded. at least 500 flights were canceled. em, mayhem, a prelude to friday, the nation's busiest travel day of the holiday season. reatblizzard also threatened to delay christmas packages during the most intense period of deliveries of the year, but in belvedere, illinois, spencer hammer watched the flakes fall and cheered. he sells snowmobiles. what are you hoping for? >> well, if we can get 12 inches that will be fabulous, but we'll take four inch as this point. >> reporter: now, we're expecting the snow to continue through the night here in northern illinois before this storm moves off into canada. but, scott, it's still expected to drop a lot of rain on the

iowa. these are my first updateds from my computer of how much snow we could get. not a lot in denver, but from omaha, lincoln, des moines, ames, madison, green bay, you could have 6 to 12 inches of snow possible by the time it's done thursday night. the rain this morning will be exiting. the southeast is just fine. the midwest, you have one nice day today, and then that snowstorm is coming tomorrow. 6 to 12 inches, it looks like those areas will be guaranteed a white christmas. >> that's good for them. some people like that thing. >>> stocks jump on promising details out of obama and boehner's fiscal cliff negotiations, and walmart rethinks bushmaster guns. >>> and for the first time this year, gas prices in all 50 states below $4, and in some states almost below $3. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso. your soups are so awesomely delicious my husband and i can't stop eating 'em! what's...that... on your head? can curlers! tomato basil, potato with bacon... we've got a lot of empty cans. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. house republican leaders say a new proposa

there was that wreck north of des moines, at least 25 vehicles there. so many accidents in iowanational guard was called in to help. >> the u.s. army came. put us in this really fancy truck. we got blankets and snacks. >> reporter: in madison, wisconsin, up to 20 inches of snow fell around that city. a record. and the university of wisconsin canceled some final exams. from the snowy side, to the tornado side. in mobile, alabama, an ef-1 twister left trees in houses. and street after street, full of debris. the relentless wind gusts also tore down power lines all across the midwest. more than 100,000 customers are still without power. i'm going to tell you, sam, that's going to be a problem. the windchill, 10 below. >> it's that brutal wind that comes in from behind it. it stays for the weekend, from where you are to where i am. there's bound to be travel delays. there are continuing travel problems. we'll go over those for everyone when we come back in regular weather. liz zblet all right, sam, thanks very much. we can hear the wind out there. >>> now, to the travel problems. it

omaha, des moines, right along this i-80 corridor, that's where we will have blizzard conditions. iowashut down with a foot of snow that will fall today. also green bay, you're expecting nearly a foot of snow coupled with strong, gusty winds. so it's a snow maker. but what's making this storm so powerful are the winds. now, this is the next six hours. the access of the strongest winds, lincoln, des moines, kansas city right now gusting to 50. as we head through the next six hours after this, so from the afternoon tonight, we'll watch that 40 and 50-mile axis of winds move toward green bay, madison and chicago. that's what's setting chicago up and all those midwest airports for real troubles tonight. it's all going to move out again tonight. chicago changes over to snow and then the winds come in, guys. tomorrow morning in the northeast from new york to washington, it's just a rain maker and it moves out by tomorrow afternoon. >> what a mess. all right, alexandra steele for us, thank you for monitoring that. let's get right to john. >>> we're learning more about the days leading up to t

iowa retirement center at 115 years old. she was born april 4, 1897 and came to des moines from italy in 1920. >>> telling the story of a remarkable institution, the images of america book series is telling the story of industrial bank, the first black owned bank to open in d.c. in 1934. one of the authors of the book doyle mitchell, jr. is joining me this morning to talk about the book and his family business that's still going strong after 79 years. doyle, thank you very much for getting up early and being here with us. the slogan ever the bank is getting -- of the bank is getting it done since 19 3w4. this causes -- 1934. this was not an easy time. this was right after the biggest bank collapse during the great depression. but your grandfather jesse mitchell, he was determined. give a blacks a bank they could trust. >> there were others involved, too. there were eight african- american business men that worked along with him. it was really a community effort because the community, there was 300 or 400 shareholders that came together and bought shares, pulled together their five and their ten and $15 and helped open the bank. >>